Disruptive changes in technology adoption and consumer behavior have equally affected the advertising and entertainment industries. As a result, branded entertainment—on big screens and small- is enjoying an exceptional era. Over 60% of consumers say they are more likely to purchase products from a company delivering custom content, and companies are reevaluating their marketing strategies to meet these new demands. Today, brands are faced with the challenge to deliver compelling content that cuts through the clutter and reaches the desired audience in their most receptive state.

Parent company Unilever challenged five of its largest companies with an older customer base to extend its brand message to a younger target market. Hellmann’s set out to be the first one to tackle this challenge with the creation of a branded content program authentic to its core values.

With a traditional target market of moms between the ages of 25 and 54, Hellmann’s crafts its messaging around two key value points. First, Hellmann’s products elevate one’s food and mood by using the best ingredients. Second, Hellmann’s products are an inspiring ingredient and not a bland condiment. With Truckers in the Wild, Hellmann’s aimed to transform these communication pillars into relevant and compelling branded entertainment engaging a younger audience.

Through a partnership with Vice Media, Hellmann’s created the online food-themed video series (with a twist!) geared toward Vice’s 18-to-30-year-old male audience. The show follows the exploits of brother-chefs Eli and Max Sussman as they explore the food-truck phenomenon by finding the best food trucks in six vastly different culinary cities across the country. Together, the brothers learn about the food the truck prepares and then drive with them out of their comfort zones to see how their menus stand up in completely unnatural environments. Each featured food truck was selected based on its dedication to using only the freshest ingredients and interesting use of Hellmann’s into its tried-and-true recipes. The series proves Hellmann’s theory is true: the best food moments happen when you bring the best ingredients together…even in the most unusual circumstances.

With its new series Truckers in the Wild, Hellmann’s (a 100-year-old brand) embarked on an unprecedented content partnership with Vice Media to extend its brand messaging to an entirely new audience. The six episode series launched on Vice.com supported by digital promotions across the Vice network (including a 30" trailer banner ad on Vice’s homepage) and a comprehensive content syndication and PR plan. By targeting Vice Media’s owned and partner channels, the series continues to successfully drive the desired audience to the Truckers in the Wild hub on Vice.com.

Vice has 50m young people visit their site each month with 10,000 distribution points throughout 30 countries, which is what made this partnership so interesting for Unilever. While Truckers in the Wild launched in April on Vice.com, the internal results have been impressive. Gaining recognition across Unilever’s global network, Hellmann’s has raised the bar for crafting true entertainment, targeting an entirely new demographic. Moreover, the video series demonstrates Hellmann’s core values without relying on overt product placement. Instead, the series delivers a high-energy, humorous take on food culture while organically weaving Hellmann’s brand messaging into the storyline - which is of the utmost importance given Vice’s hyper critical audience.